Praveen Kumar
Department of Ophthalmology, JIPMER, Dhanvantari Nagar, Pondicherry, India
Title: Effect of Chronic Alcohol and Tobacco Use on Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness – A Case Control Study
Biography
Biography: Praveen Kumar
Abstract
Objective: To identify the effects of chronic alcohol and/or tobacco use on retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and to find the association between severity of addiction with RNFL thinning. Design: Case control study at tertiary care centre in southern India. Methodology: Cases included alcohol and/or tobacco users for at least 5 years. Severity of alcohol and tobacco dependence was graded by Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Fagerstorm Nicotine Dependence (FTND) scale respectively. Age and gender matched individuals without addictions were taken as controls. RNFL thickness was measured using Stratus Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Outcome measures: RNFL thinning by OCT. Statistical analysis: Differences in RNFL thickness between cases and controls were analysed using Mann-Whitney test. Statistical significance was considered with p ≤ 0.05. Effect of alcohol and tobacco consumption on RNFL thickness was analysed using STATA 11 (Statacorp, Texas) and SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 200 eyes of cases and controls respectively were included. Statistically significant RNFL thinning was noted in all quadrants except nasally. Significant RNFL thinning was seen with increased FTND Scale. RNFL thinning was seen with higher AUDIT scale, but this was not statistically significant. Conclusion: People who are addicted to tobacco use are likely to have RNFL thinning. Authors recommend that OCT can be used as feasible preclinical tool to screen RNFL thinning among chronic tobacco and alcohol users.